Same-sex advocates want both parents' names on birth certificates

Monday

Feb 10, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 11, 2014 at 10:58 AM

Opponents of Ohio's same-sex marriage ban are using lawsuits in an attempt to nibble away at rules dealing with the beginning and end of life, while simultaneously planning a direct assault on state law.

Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch

Opponents of Ohio’s same-sex marriage ban are using lawsuits in an attempt to nibble away at rules dealing with the beginning and end of life, while simultaneously planning a direct assault on state law.

“This is about dignity and equality for all Ohio families, and we’ll get there — even if it’s one court case at a time,” said Michael Premo of Why Marriage Matters Ohio. He was reacting to the filing yesterday of a lawsuit asking a federal judge to force Ohio to put the names of both same-sex parents on birth certificates of their children.

The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati on behalf of three female couples and a male couple, all of whom were married in states where same-sex marriage is legal.

It is the same court where Cincinnati attorney Al Gerhardstein won a round in a different case last year by forcing Ohio officials to recognize gay marriages on death certificates. Gerhardstein is also lead counsel in the latest case filed against the Ohio Department of Health, which handles both birth and death certificates.

In the case of the lesbian couples, one woman in each pair was artificially inseminated. Under current Ohio law, the name of only one parent in same-gender couples can be listed on the birth certificate.

Both partners in the male couple, who adopted a child from Ohio, said they want to be listed as the father on the child’s birth certificate. However, that is barred by Ohio law, which permits only one man to be listed as the father.

Gerhardstein said birth certificates are the “primary identity document in our society” and are used to access health care, education, travel documents and many other services. “Forcing families to accept incorrect birth certificates imposes lifelong harms and is a direct attack on family dignity.”

A spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine declined to comment on the case because it is pending litigation.

Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Gov. John Kasich, said his office also doesn’t comment on pending litigation, “except to say that the governor believes marriage is between a man and a woman.”

Ohio officials in general push back in such cases by citing the amendment to the state Constitution approved by Ohio voters in 2004 that limits marriage to one man and one woman. The amendment also forbids actions that approximate same-sex marriage.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Black, ruling in December in the death-certificate case, said, “The question presented is whether a state can do what the federal government cannot — i.e., discriminate against same-sex couples … simply because the majority of the voters don’t like homosexuality (or at least didn’t in 2004). … Under the Constitution of the United States, the answer is no.”

Last month, DeWine’s office appealed that ruling to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ian James, co-founder of FreedomOhio, said the lawsuit is “further evidence that from cradle to grave, marriage equality matters. No matter how they become parents, straight couples have no obstacles in order to be identified on their child’s birth certificate. Legally married same-gender couples want the same family recognition and security, and they deserve no less.”

James’ group is leading the charge to overturn Ohio’s same-sex marriage ban and is shooting for a November vote to override the constitutional amendment.